You Belong With Me
by bballgirl22
Summary: A twist loosely based off of Taylor Swift's hit song. Locker room confrontations and shed tears lead to a late night rendezvous on Gabriella's balcony. Will the boy next door finally win? T for a tiny bit of language.


**You Belong With Me**

**A/N: Okay, so this actually came to me in my car while I was listening to You Belong With Me by none other than Taylor Swift and at the same time, her first new album clue was tweeted as well. And to top it all off, I was think about Among-Stars story Can't Help But Wait (you guys should check it out!) which is also what this is based on, but only because of how well Troy knew his best friend Gabi in that story. So, this is loosely based off of You Belong With Me because certain lines were just perfect, but it's kind of different than all the other ones because the girl has the boyfriend this time. So let me know what you think! And sorry for any typos, I didn't have time to look it over or ask anyone else to.**

Troy Bolton sighed as he tossed the plush basketball up and down from his bed in rhythm to a Daughtry song that was playing softly throughout the room, glancing out the window every so often to check the balcony next door. That balcony belonged to the girl of his dreams and she had no idea. He had met Gabriella Montez when they were five years old and they had been best friends ever since. And Troy has been head over heels in love with his best friend since freshmen year and his love had only grown stronger through the whole callback debacle and everything else in between.

The pair did almost everything together. Every night Troy would sneak out of his room and climb onto her balcony, where the two would sit and talk and joke around for hours, or if it was cold, they would lay on her bed together, content with just being with each other like they always were. Every Friday the whole gang went out on the town together and it usually ended around midnight with Sharpay and Zeke sneaking off, Jason offering to take Kelsi home, Taylor making sure Gabriella was okay before she let Chad drag her away, and Ryan bidding his goodbyes before Troy and Gabriella got into his truck.

Wednesday was the day that Gabriella liked to call Best Friend Day because she and Troy would cancel any and all plans and go anywhere they wanted to after school. It was Troy's favorite day of the week because he had her undivided attention for hours upon hours and he fell more and more in love even when he thought he couldn't possibly love her anymore. Everything she did lit up his day and he hated seeing her hurt or upset. The problem? It was March of senior year and Troy still hadn't told her. Sharpay knew, of course, she could read Troy like a book, and he had talked to her about it at times, but he still hadn't told Gabriella. He wanted to now more than ever because he had already committed to the University of Albquerque and Gabriella might be headed off to Stanford in the fall with no idea how her best friend felt about her.

What's the only that was stopping the blue-eyed basketball captain, you ask? Well, Chase Reese, of course. Chase had been Gabriella's boyfriend since the start of the year back in September. Now, it wasn't that Troy didn't like Chase. The kid was the six-man on the basketball and had never caused any problems, but Troy just got a strange vibe from the Chase. But there was no way he could ever tell Gabriella that, and there was no way he could tell her how he felt when she was with Chase. He knew they belonged together, but now he would just have to settle for being her best friend.

Troy was brought out of his thoughts by a slam from outside his window. He turned quick, causing the ball to land on his head. He brushed it off and stood up, walking over to the window. He frowned when he saw Gabriella pacing back and forth on her balcony, her left arm flailing around. Troy knew that was something she only did when she was upset. He peered a little closer and noticed she was on the phone. _Must be Chase_ Troy thought with disdain. He sighed, watching her continue to pace angrily and wishing he could go over, but he knew now wasn't the time. Suddenly, she yelled something that the whole block probably heard.

"It was a freaking joke Chase! All of my friends knew it was a joke, why can't you just let it go?!" Gabriella shouted into the mouthpiece. Troy felt clenched and unclenched his fist as he tried to keep himself calm. He loved Gabriella's sense of humor. Sometimes, she was the only one who could make him laugh. He jumped again as he heard a bang next door and looked up to quickly see the small table overturned and Gabriella's hand frozen in mid-air.

"Chase, don't you ever, EVER bring him up!" she shouted. She listened for a few seconds before her features softened and Troy had to strain to hear her next words. "I know, baby, but you know he upsets me. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" With that, Gabriella hung up the phone and threw it onto the couch before sinking down against the railing, trying to blink away the tears she knew were coming.

Troy took this as his cue. He knew the only possible Gabriella could be talking about was her father and that was a bad thing. Once she started thinking about him, things got bad. He swung down to the ground in a matter of seconds. He jogged across the lawn and started to pull himself up to her room and landed with a soft thud before his eyes landed on her crying figure.

"Gabs," Troy said simply, watching as she lifted her head and locked her brown eyes on his blue ones. His heart nearly broke at the tear tracks on her cheek as she stood up and ran over to him, and quickly wrapped her in his arms before lifting her slightly and sitting on the futon. "Don't cry. Please?"

"Troy," Gabriella said, hugging him tighter as she tried to gather her bearings.

"Look, Gabriella, whatever happened, just remember that nothing will ever be as bad as the time me and Chad got revenge on you and Tay for tricking us into thinking our Lakers' tickets were shredded," Troy explained, hoping the memory would get a smile out of her. He smiled softly when she looked up at him and giggled.

"Troy, how do you always know what I need to hear?" Gabriella asked as she curled up into his side. Troy just shrugged as he absentmindedly started to stroke her hair, a gesture that was comforting to both of them.

"So, you're coming to the game tomorrow, right?" Troy asked, breaking the few minutes of comfortable silence.

"How could I not? You and the guys have been going on about this first round game for the past week and Chase wouldn't let me miss it," Gabriella laughed quietly, failing to notice Troy's face fall at the mention of her boyfriend. It was becoming harder and harder for the teen to hide his feelings for her, especially when she brought up Chase.

Three hours later, Troy was standing up and stretching. He held back a yawn as he looked down at Gabriella. "So, I was thinking instead of driving tomorrow, we could walk to school together? I know how much you love the winter scenes and I like to get fresh air on game days."

"Of course!" Gabriella clapped her hands together as a wide smile crossed her face, causing to Troy to smile back and feel as though as brisk New Mexico night had just lit up like the sun. These types of smiles Gabriella were far and rare since she and Chase had gotten together and Troy figured it was because of the daily arguments the couple always had. God, he couldn't stand seeing her with Chase sometimes. He would never upset her, he would do everything in his power to keep her happy if he was the one she was with.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow, Brie," Troy smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Darn you for being so tall," she mumbled into his chest. Troy laughed and kissed the top of her head before swinging himself back down the ground. He glanced back up at her for a moment before heading home.

YBWMYBWM

"Hoops!" Chad Danforth yelled as he sprinted down the hallway towards his friend's locker. He had seen Gabriella and Taylor walking together, so he knew Troy was alone. "Troy!" Chad yelled again as he slid around a corner. He paused for a split second before the red BOLTON and 14 on the back of a white warmup that matched his and took off running again. "Hoops!" Chad yelled one last time a she skidded to a stop in front of Troy.

"Hey, man, what's up? You ready for tonight?" Troy asked with a smile before noticing Chad's concerned expression. "What's wrong? And why are you out of breath?"

"I just ran across the whole school looking for you," Chad explained between breaths.

"What? Why?" Troy asked, pausing in his actions of collecting the books he needed for the last period of the day to focus all his attention on Chad.

"Chase. I just saw Chase. And he was…Man, he was making out with Martha in the locker room," Chad said in a low voice, carefully watching his captain for the reaction he would have. Troy slammed his locker shut and Chad quickly grabbed him and yanked him into the nearest empty classroom. "Troy, don't do anything, please. We need you tonight. I think you should just tell Gabriella."

"I can't do that, Chad. At least, not today. She spent half an hour last night telling me how excited she was to watch her two favorite boys play. I can't crush her right now, and I can't do it in public either. Let's just focus on kicking some Tiger butt tonight," Troy told his friend, although in his head the wheels were already turning.

"I guess, if you're sure," Chad agreed before clapping Troy on the back. "WHAT TEAM?!" he shouted, starting the chant as the two walked down the hallway.

YBWMYBWM

Troy took his headphones out of his ears as his dad, er, coach walked into the locker room for his pre-game pep talk.

"Alright, boys, this is it. You have thirty-two minutes out there on that floor tonight and if you don't give it all you have for thirty-two minutes, well, we're not going to be in the gym tomorrow. So let's show everyone what they came here to see. Hands in!" Coach Bolton said, looking around at his team. He looked at his five starters in turn, first to Jason, then Zeke, then Chad, then Mason, and finally to his son. "And have fun out there," he added before leaving the locker room to give his boys a few minutes of alone time before warmups.

As he watched his dad retreat back to the court for the coaches/officials meeting, Troy felt his phone vibrate next to him. He picked it up and smiled as he read the text.

_Good luck tonight, Wildcat, as if you'll even need it. Make me proud. Love you. –G_

It was Troy's usual good luck text from Gabriella, but for some reason it made him smile extra wide tonight. And then he felt his stomach clench as Chase cleared his throat for attention and held up his phone.

"Well, would you look at this? A good luck text from Babe-riella Montez," Chase sneered, and Troy felt Chad's hand on his arm ready to hold him back. "_Good luck, baby. You'll be the best one out there and I can't wait to run into your arms after. I love you so much._"

"Reese."

Everyone's heads snapped up to Chad as he said this. Even Troy looked at his other best friend, confused.

"Danforth," Chase nodded back, not catching the dangerous edge in Chad's voice.

"You just better thank your lucky stars you're on my team tonight after what you've been doing behind Gabriella's back," Chad growled. Troy's arm was now on Chad's because he knew how hot-headed he could be.

"And what exactly am I doing, Danforth? Besides telling _everyone_ on the team how great she is in bed," Chase smirked as a couple of the guys hooted behind him. But the rest stayed silent as they saw the look in their captain's eyes. Troy blinked, trying to calm himself. Gabriella was a virgin, she had told him last night she still hadn't slept with Chase and now this guy thought he could just prance around with other girls behind her back and still tell lies about her. He stood up, ignoring Chad's protests and Zeke's hand.

"Bolton," Chase sneered as Troy stood up, causing the entire room to go silent.

"Don't talk about her like that," Troy said calmly.

"Why? You don't like the fact that I'm fucking your dream girl, Bolton? The girl you'll never have?" Chase instigated.

"You think you can spread lies about my best friend while you makeout and who knows what else with other girls behind her back?" Troy asked, his voice still eerily calm, something that told Chad and the other guys that he was more than angry right now.

"You're all talk, Bolton. I have no idea what you're talking about," Chase said after a long pause.

"Oh yeah? Well I guess we'll just have to have a talk with one Martha Cox," Troy told him, taking a step towards him.

"No one was there, you don't have witnesses," Chase told him. That was when Chad raised his hand and pointed to himself and realization dawned on Chase. "Whatever, Gabriella won't believe you and I'll have two girls on their knees for me."

"Well, let's see how this plays out on the court," Troy said before he shoved past Chase and out into the hallway, followed by Chad, Zeke, and Jason.

"You okay, man?" Zeke asked, knowing he was the only one calm enough to be logical at the moment seeing as how Jason was red in the face and had just punched the wall.

"Get ready, guys. Game on," Troy said simply before throwing the hood of his warmup over his head and taking the ball from Zeke. With that, he ran out of the locker room and into the gym packed full of screaming fans.

YBWMYBWM

The clock was running down in the final minute of the game and the Wildcats were down by one. Troy was dribbling down the court, knowing full well that all three of the guys in front of him from South High had nothing on him. No one ever did in the first few rounds. He slowed down as he reached halfcourt and watched the clock tick to thirteen seconds. Suddenly, he heard Chad yell from behind him and he turned just in time to see and spin out of the way of one Chase Reese who seemed as though he wanted to tackle his own teammate. Now, to everyone in the stands, it looked like Chase had just slipped, but Troy and the other three seniors on the court knew better. They just hadn't thought Chase would take it as far as costing East High the game when they were poised to repeat as champions.

"Timeout!" Troy called to the referee as Chase pulled himself back off the ground. Coach Bolton looked at Troy curiously before signaling a full timeout and pulling his guys into the huddle.

"Get him out. Put in Hunter, Riley, put in Rocketman even, dad. Just get him out of the game," Troy nodded to Chase, and Coach Bolton watched his son in concern. He never called him dad on the court unless he was very serious.

"Alright, captain, if that's what you want," Coach Bolton shrugged and called down the bench as Chad started up the cheer.

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"WILDCATS!"

"WILDCATS!"

"GET'CHA HEAD IN THE GAME!"

Troy smiled as the entire East High fan section followed them in their chant and he glanced up into the crowd, immediately spotting Sharpay's blond hair. He looked to her left and Taylor and Kelsi, then to her right, where his eyes locked on Gabriella. She met his eyes and smiled before waving and cheering his name loudly. Troy smiled even wider at this, and the fact that Chase saw it was just an added bonus.

"Dude, run Hawks," Chad said as he came up behind Troy. "It can be run against man or zone and they'll never see it coming against the zone they're going to go in. They've only seen it from man all night." Troy nodded and called out the play as his team took their positions. Zeke tossed it to him from out of bounds and the team started running. The clock ticked down to nine seconds as Troy passed to Zeke, who was positioned at the foul line and ran to screen the forward for Chad. He hid a smile at the look of confusion on the South High captain's face as well as the coach's when he gave up the ball. Chad rolled up off the screen, taking the forward with him and Jason managed to get inside position on the other forward, forcing the big man to move over and get sidetracked for a moment as the clock reached three seconds. And that was all Troy needed as he turned and sealed, putting his hand up to call for the ball from Zeke, who had already gotten into the passing motion. Troy caught the ball and effortlessly knocked it off the glass, watching it slide through the net as the buzzer sounded.

The East High Wildcats had won the first round of the state playoffs. And the only person who didn't seem happy about it was Chase Reese, especially when he looked up into the crowd to see his girlfriend waving Troy Bolton's other jersey in excitement.

YBWMYBWM

Gabriella followed Sharpay and Taylor down onto the court in the frenzy that followed the handshakes between the two teams. She was looking for Chase but the first person she was Troy, standing next to Chad and Zeke and talking to a reporter, probably about that last play.

The three girls walked over in time to hear Troy say "But all the credit goes to Chad, here. He watched their defense the whole game and knew what would throw them off" and watched him pat Chad on the back before the three boys shared a manly group hug.

"Troy!" Gabriella shouted in excitement, running into his arms and laughing as he spun her around, hearing giggles from her friends next to her as well. "Oh my God, Wildcat, you did amazing!"

"Thanks Brie," Troy smiled down at her, hugging her tighter to his body and not wanting to let go in the excitement.

"I told you that you wouldn't need any luck," she teased, burying her face in his chest. "Ew, you're all sweaty." She added in a fake whine as she pulled back slightly and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"What can I say? I just scored the winning basket, cut me some slack," Troy laughed.

"Oh and always so modest," Gabriella told him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She squealed when Troy lightly pinched her sides in protest. "Jerk!" she laughed as she hit his arm.

"Now is that anyway to treat your best friend after he won a huge game?" Troy joked back, pulling he closer to him.

"Love you, Wildcat," Gabriella laughed before she pulled away completely. "But I have to go find Chase, I'll see you on my balcony later?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Troy replied, ignoring the pang in his heart as he watched her walk off through the throng of red and white.

Troy turned to Chad, Zeke, Taylor and Sharpay and was about to say something when he heard someone yelling his name. He turned quickly and all five of them searched the crowd for the continuing voices.

"Troy!" Kelsi finally broke through the crowd, Jason in tow.

"Hoops, you'll never believe what we just saw," Jason yelled over the noise.

"Guys, we saw Chase kissing Tiara…and it didn't look like they were going to be finished anytime soon," Kelsi said solemnly as Troy and Chad exchanged looks.

"First Martha, now that she-witch," Chad stomped his foot in frustration as Taylor and Sharpay widened their eyes. Troy held up his hand to stop the questions he knew were going to come.

"We'll fill you guys in later. Right now, we have to stop Gabriella and tell her before she witnesses it. She was going to find him when she left me," Troy told them.

"Move out, people!" Sharpay yelled, grabbing Zeke by his jersey beginning to walk quickly across the court in her three inch heels. The other followed quickly, Troy catching up with Sharpay and Zeke in the process.

"Just so you know, Mr. Basketball Man," Sharpay started, looking over at him. "That little show you two put on before looked an awful lot like you were dating. Why don't you just tell her?"

"Shar, can this wait? Please? I promise if I do, you'll be the first to know," Troy said in exasperation as he continued to push through the sea of people.

"Not if, when, but fine, whatever you say," she agreed, looking down for a second before she felt herself run right into something hard. She looked up to see a frozen Troy in front of her and she gasped when Zeke walked into her and she heard the groans from the rest of the gang as Troy caused a nine-person pile up. Once they had all gotten to a spot where they could see what had caused Troy to stop dead, they couldn't blame him.

Chase's hands were under Tiara's shirt and she was starting to pull off his jersey (yes, even in a gym full of people). But worst of all was the person who had just emerged from the crowd across from them.

Gabriella let out a strangled cry and her hands flew to cover her mouth at the sight in front of her. Chase, knowing what she sounded lie, quickly pushed Tiara off of him and turned.

"Gabi, baby, it's not what it looks like," Chase said, his hands up in a surrender position as he took a step toward her.

"No, Chase! It's exactly what it looks like. We're through!" Gabriella managed to scream out before a tear escaped her eye and she turned on her heel and ran.

"Gabriella!" Chase called, starting to go after her before a sharp voice stopped him.

"Reese. Don't you dare go near her," Troy snapped, stepping closer to him, his arms crossed over his chest, as Zeke, Chad, and Jason did the same around him. He glanced back at Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsi. "Go after her, please. I don't want her to be alone right now." The three girls nodded quickly before taking off. And ironically, Sharpay was moving the fastest in her heels.

Troy watched the girls move through the crowd out of the corner of his eyes, but he never took his eyes off of the lowlife in front of him. In fact, the longer he looked at Chase, the more he wanted to tackle him to the gym floor. He must have started to worry teammates because after a few minutes of the stare down, he felt the guys starting to pull him back the other way.

"Come on, Troy, he's not worth it," Jason told him, shaking his head in disgust as Chase took advantage of the distraction and slunk away.

"Yeah, let's hit the showers and get out of here," Chad told him, tugging on Troy's arm.

"Troy, Gabs needs you right now, so the quicker you get in that shower, the quicker you can get to her," Zeke said, always the voice of reason as Troy finally gave in and followed his boys to the locker room.

YBWMYBWM

Troy shifted his truck into park outside his house half an hour and hopped out. Instead of the warmup he had on all day, he now had on sweatpants, a black T-shirt, and his Wildcat hoodie. He decided to not even waste his time with the balcony and instead went right to the front door and rang the bell, knowing her mother would understand why he was there so late.

"Oh, Troy, come on in," Maria Montez said as she opened the door wider for him. "She's upstairs somewhere, Troy. Thank you for coming. The girls left fifteen minutes ago and told me they couldn't even get a smile out of her. I never liked him, and I know you never did, either."

"You've got that right, Mrs. Montez," Troy said wryly. "I tried for her sake, but let's just say if it wasn't for Zeke, he'd have no teeth." Maria gave him a small smile before he nodded to her and took the stairs two at a time. He gathered himself before heading down the short, carpeted hallway and knocking on her door. He waited a minute and still had received no answer, so he tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he slowly pushed it open and peeked his head in. He saw the covers thrown back, a pillow with tears stains on it, tissues everywhere, an empty bowl, and a mess of CDs by some of Gabriella's favorite musicians such as Daughtry and Taylor Swift, but there was no sign of Gabriella.

Troy sighed and ran a hand through his still damp hair. He immediately started to play with the championship from last year on his finger, another habit he had picked up on doing when he was nervous. He had no idea how to talk about this with her or even if she would talk. Heck, if Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsi couldn't get so much as a smile out of her, what was he going to do?

Troy shook his head to clear it. So what if he didn't know much? The one thing he did know was that Gabriella needed him. With that thought, he walked across her room and slid open the door to balcony. He looked around quickly, his eyes landing on her sobbing figure curled up on the futon. He was starting to really hate these late night hurt-fests caused by Chase. He hated seeing his best friend anything but happy.

"Brie," Troy sighed as he sat down next to her, gathering her into his arms as she turned and started crying into sweatshirt. "Hang on a minute, Brie, you're shivering." Troy pulled away from her a moment to pull his sweatshirt off and wrap it around her small body before they both assumed their previous positions. Troy knew the best thing to do right now was just let her cry.

They sat there for a good hour and a half with the Latina soaking his shirt and him lightly stroking her hair before Gabriella's strangled sobs turned to quiet sniffles and she looked up at Troy.

"Well, hi there, pretty girl," Troy looked down at her, willing his smile to reach his eyes.

"Troy," she whispered out, her voice too hoarse to go any higher than that at the moment. "You missed the celebration with the team." Troy chuckled.

"Gabs, I don't think there was much of a celebration after what happened, trust me. At least, not with _my _guys," Troy assured her. "And I would much rather be here making sure you were okay than at some stupid party anyway." A small smile graced Gabriella's face and Troy smiled softly at the progress. They sat in silence for a few moments before Troy spoke again. "I know you're about to cry."

"I am not, " Gabriella protested even though she could feel the lump forming in her throat.

"Please don't. I hate to see you cry," Troy pleaded with her. "Look at me." He waited until she did and continued on. "Just think about kindergarten. Right now, you and I are back in kindergarten, when everything was simple and you used to finger-paint every part of my body every single color but red even though I love red." Gabriella shook her head and giggled. It was quiet, but it was all Troy needed. "That's my girl," he murmured into her hair.

"Troy, how do you always know how to make me laugh, even when I know I'm about to break down?" Gabriella sighed softly.

"Because I know you that well," Troy answered automatically, reaching down to pick up the iPod that she had discarded on the ground before he arrived. He looked at the playlist she had up and then looked back at her questioningly, his eyebrows raising and causing her to smile at his silliness.

"When we were together, I made a playlist of the music Chase hated and would never let me listen to when we were together. It's all the stuff that you and I used to listen to growing up and I never outgrew it," Gabriella explained quietly.

"And you thought I did? Gabs, these people come out with new stuff like every other month," he exaggerated to prove his point. "And I know these were always your favorites."

"Troy, it's almost two in the morning, if you have to go, you can. I'll be fine," Gabriella said suddenly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Brie," Troy whispered, looking up at the sky and noticing all the constellations he could see for the first time that night. "Look, there's Orion's Belt." He pointed to his left. Gabriella followed his hand and smiled when she saw the outline. She and Troy hadn't stargazed since sophomore and it was still one of her favorite memories.

"Show me the Big Dipper," she requested as she snuggled closer to him. Troy just smiled as he moved his hand to the right. He knew how special the Big Dipper was to her and she had always asked him to find it when they watched the stars.

"Gabs, are you really alright? And don't lie to me because I can tell when you are," Troy said a few minutes later, lifting his head up so he could look at her.

"I-I don't know, Troy," Gabriella stuttered out. "It just…Troy, it just hurt so much. I thought he loved me," Gabriella said in a nearly inaudible voice. Troy sighed.

"Brie, you should know some other things that happened in that locker room before the game. And why I made dad…take Chase out of the game at the end," Troy admitted.

"That was why he was sitting?" Gabriella asked in surprise? Troy nodded.

"In the locker room he read that text you sent him to everyone and he called you Babe-riella, then he started telling everyone how you had sex and that he made out with Martha right after and Chad witnessed then and he started coming at me about how great you were in bed and-and…." Troy said it all in one breath before cutting himself off.

"Wildcat, breathe," Gabriella said, smiling small at how he was slightly out of breath. "Martha? I should've suspected as much. I always caught him staring at her. He said that? But, Troy, you know I never did anything with him, I've never done anything with anyone. " Gabriella sighed, blinking her eyes quickly so she wouldn't start crying again. She didn't want to cry again and she knew Chase didn't deserve her tears. All she wanted right now was to be with Troy and she was and she was happier than she should've been after finding out the guy she thought she was in love with cheated on her with multiple girls.

"I know that. And that's why there was a bit of a…confrontation before the game. And then at the end there, when I called a timeout, it was because he tried to make me lose the ball and cost us the game," Troy explained, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"He-he tried to make you…God, Troy I'm so sorry. I always thought you guys got along," Gabriella shook her head again, wrapping her arms around him as she did so.

"We did, Gabs, until…" Troy trailed off again. This wasn't the time to get into this, not after what happened.

"Why didn't you finish the story? He was saying how great I was in bed and then you stopped," Gabriella looked up at him. "And thank you for defending me. You know, you're the only guy who's ever been able to make me happy no matter what and I love you for that." Troy smiled down at her before swallowing thickly.

"Brie, he was directing his words at me at that point and saying things like I would never know and you would never want to date a guy like me and-" Gabriella cut him off right there with a soft but quick kiss to his lips. Troy was so shocked he didn't even have time to react.

"Troy Alexander Bolton, you are absolutely perfect and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise," Gabriella told him, pretending to be stern.

"Only when I'm with you," Troy breathed out. "What was that for?" Gabriella blushed and he smirked at her, seeing how awkward the question made her.

"It was a start to apologizing for being blind to what was right in front of me all along. Sharpay has been telling me you liked me since freshmen year and I just never believed her because how could someone as perfect as you like someone like me?" Gabriella told him, not meeting his gaze.

"I'm going to kill Sharpay," Troy muttered before hooking his finger under her chin and making her look at him. "Gabriella Montez, you are the perfect one and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise, not even that jerk Chase who took advantage of you. And I just want you to know even if we're only ever best friends our whole lives, I will never hurt you and I will always, always be here for you, no matter what." A tear slipped down Gabriella's cheek and Troy gently wiped it away with his thumb. "Don't cry, please."

"Troy, no, these are happy tears. I love you. More than you know. And I don't just mean as a friend. I'm head over heels in love with you Troy Bolton. And I hope you know that you belong with me and none of those cheerleaders who fawn all over you," Gabriella looked up at him finally and he smiled down at her, causing her to relax and snuggle even closer into him, if that was even possible.

"And I love you too. I just wanna be with you," Troy whispered before connecting their lips again. He smiled against her lips. He had been waiting for this moment his entire life and the girl of his dreams was finally his.

_Have you ever thought just maybe you belong with me._

**A/N: PLEASE READ! Okay, so this was a tad bit longer than I expected, but that aside, I hope guys enjoyed it! I know, I know, another plot bunny resulting in another oneshot, but I promise you guys I am making progress on the first multi-chapter I am going to post and you guys are going to love it! And these oneshots are helping me get sweet Troy out of my system so I can keep him in character. Aha, there's your hint! Anyway, let me know what you guys thought in a review please! They keep me motivated to work on the other story to know there are more of you out there who want read my stuff. Thank you all!**


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